Alternative Ending - Chapter Four: Filling in the Blanks
Amelia's reunion with the Black Pearl was not as she had imagined it would have been. The crew had changed entirely. While the ship itself felt the same, the atmosphere was not the most welcoming one. Even her own father was acting very stiffly towards her. He was not impressed with the way her encounter with Jack went - aside from the slap that is, he had no objections to that part. He couldn't figure out the reasoning behind sending Tristan out. There was no logic behind it.
"Ye of all people, still puttin' yer trust in the dog," he huffed.
"He may not be the swiftest," Amelia said, "but he is a good man."
"Yer memory be too short for yer own good."
Barbossa did not hesitate to remind her of Jack's betrayal. How Captain Jack Sparrow orchestrated her kidnapping. How everything that had ever gone wrong had been caused by his stupid folly.
Amelia refused to listen to much more. She tuned him out until he ran out of breath and walked off. Amelia sat there coolly.
Ragetti approached her with a moist cloth and a bowl of broth. He handed her the bowl and then sat down beside her. He fiddled with the cloth in his hand.
"I'm sorry," he said meekly.
"For?"
"For not havin' done nothin'."
Amelia tried to smile, but it was difficult to keep.
"You've always been so good to me," she said to him.
He reached up with the cloth in hand. He was going to touch her face with it but felt it invasive, so he retracted his hand. Amelia gently took it from him and patted herself where it stung.
Hesitantly, but unable to keep the question unanswered, Ragetti asked her, "What you said to Captain Jack, was there truth in it?"
"I'm sorry?"
"When you was talkin' to Jack, you said that you told him 'bout being…"
"Oh," Amelia knew where this was going.
"Was there truth in that? Or was you just sayin'?"
Amelia struggled to form words. She didn't know if she could tell her old friend. She knew that the truth would hurt him. He was, after all, the only man to sincerely propose marriage to her.
He could see her hesitation. That was answer enough. He was sorry that even he asked. He got up.
Amelia felt a rush of guilt, "Wait."
"He don't deserve you, Ms. Amelia," Ragetti said. "Him what puts a price on you ain't worth his own soul."
Ragetti proceeded to tell her everything. Jack's determination to reclaim the Aztec gold. His revenge against Barbossa. His drunken stupors. His drive for immortality. Even his attraction to a certain governor's daughter. It made for a long night.